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And finally . . . Magners success teaches Guinness that less is more

THE triumphant march by Magners cider across the boozers of Britain continues unabated, with the north of England about to fall. Soon, there won’t be a Pig & Whistle that doesn’t stock those gold-topped pint bottles.

From a standing start, Magners has cornered a 1.5% share of the British beer market, or the Long Alcoholic Drink (Lad) market, as the marketeers like to call it.

C&C reckons that its Magners brand is a year ahead of forecast in terms of sales, benefiting from a €30m marketing investment, arguably the largest ever by an Irish-owned brand in Britain.

On a five-year forecast, Magners is expected to gain a 2.5%-3% share of pub trade for Lads. It already has that share in Scotland, and across Britain as a whole it already sells about the same volume as Guinness.

The next milestone must be Strongbow’s 3.5% market share, and if Magners continues to